Tevatron to be Closed Soon

Tevatron, the world's second largest particle accelerator, is about to be closed this Friday, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (D.O.E.). The reason for the decision to close is assumed to be the present American financial crunch.

Started in 1983, Tevatron is recognized as the second most powerful accelerator after the Large Hadron Collider of the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN).

As building another big particle project in U.S. currently seems impossible considering the crisis of funds, physicists from Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory and scientists from all over the country are requesting the D.O.E. to fund the existing intensity frontier, which explores fundamental particles and forces of nature using intense particle beams and highly sensitive detectors, as described by the Fermilab.

The D.O.E. Office of Science is currently considering the establishment of a major underground science facility to study underground particle physics.

We need to look at the future of American particle physics, not through the lens of politics, but through the lens of science, and determine where we can make the greatest impact with finite resources, said Committee Member, Rep. Judy Biggert. These strategic investments are a critical step in maintaining the talent and scientific leadership necessary to for us to meet the challenges of the 21st century. And it's at cutting-edge facilities like Fermi where the next generation of young minds will be inspired to pursue innovations here in the U.S. that will create jobs, cure diseases, and push the frontiers of science.

In 1995, the Tevatron discovered the Top Quark, a particle which is one of the fundamental constituents of matter, but the Tevatron has made phenomenal contributions to particle physics, believes CERN's director general Rolf Heuer.